A little bit of good new for people on state probation in Massachusetts. Amendments to G. L. c. 276, § 87A have repealed probation supervision fees, effective July 1, 2022. Probationers who have already paid probation fees for July and August of 2022 will have them refunded. Just to be clear, fees paid for probation prior to July 1, 2022 will not be returned and if you still owe probation fees for supervision prior to July 1, 2022, you are still responsible for that.
Probation fees are incredibly burdensome and often imposed on people with the fewest resources to pay them. A person a three year term of probation was charged up to $65/month, which required them to pay a total of $2340 over that period. It is encouraging to see this change in law. I hope that MA legislators will repeal the Indigent Counsel Fee next.
If you are on probation in Massachusetts and are facing violation, or would like to file a motion for early termination of probation or modification of conditions, please contact my office.